Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan

• Published date: 25 April 2023
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Real Estate, Landlord & Tenant - Leases
• Law Firm: Weightmans
• Author: Sian Evans

The Action Plan puts forward a number of proposals to help registered providers combat anti-social behaviour.

The Government has recently published its Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan ("the Action Plan") outlining proposals for combating anti-social behaviour in England and Wales.

The Prime Minister, in the foreword, refers to strong communities being bound by a "golden thread" - the "golden thread" that people should treat others as they would like to be treated. It is the Government's intention that the Action Plan will strengthen the "golden thread" and stop "anti-social behaviour in its tracks".

The three point Action Plan sets out the Government's proposals to:

1. Make sure anti-social behaviour is treated with the urgency it deserves;
2. Change laws and systems to take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour;
3. Give the police and other agencies the tools they need to discourage anti-social behaviour.

The Action Plan references a 2022 survey in which it was found that over one in four social housing residents had been affected by anti-social behaviour in the last year. 55% of those who reported anti-social behaviour were dissatisfied with the outcome and 40% of those affected by anti-social behaviour who did not report the behaviour did not do so because they did not believe their landlord would act on it.

The Action Plan includes a number of proposals relevant to different sectors. However, those most relevant to registered providers we believe are as follows:

Closure powers

One proposal the Action Plan puts forward is to consult on the possibility of expanding current closure powers to shut down properties where nuisance or disorder is being perpetrated to include extending the powers to registered providers to enable them to directly address anti-social behaviour.

The present closure powers are a two stage process whereby premises can be closed where they have resulted, or are likely soon to result in, nuisance to members of the public or disorder associated with the use of the premises, initially, for a period of forty eight hours by way of closure notice and, subsequently, to a maximum of six months, by way of closure order.

It would be a positive step to expand the current powers to enable registered providers to seek closure themselves, particularly where the registered provider owns the property in question. It remains to be seen, however, how the powers would apply to registered providers in the event that the property in question is...